Tsunami brings in investors not driving them away
Tsunami brings in investors not driving them away
Zakki P. Hakim, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The devastating Dec. 26 quake and tsunami in Aceh and parts of
North Sumatra, apparently did not deter global investors from
examining prospects in the country.
Organizers of next week's Infrastructure Summit say they are
trying to accommodate the requests for participation in the
event.
There are at least 700 potential investors, foreign and
domestic, requesting a seat in the by-invitation-only 500-seat
event, according to the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and
Industry (Kadin). Kadin serves as the government's partner in
organizing the event.
"We have now 312 global investors, leaving very limited place
for domestic players," the event organizing co-chairman John A.
Prasetio told The Jakarta Post over the weekend.
He added that foreign investors became more enthusiastic after
the disaster and would dominate the event.
"Maybe we are supposed to prioritize foreign investors to give
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono an opportunity to meet with
them instead of visiting them one by one in their respective
countries," John said, adding it would significantly cut down the
President's travel budget.
He added that many of the potential investors asked about
investing in infrastructure in Aceh, which was badly destroyed by
the disaster.
Therefore, the organizers would include a special session on
infrastructure investment in disaster struck areas especially
Aceh, said John, who is also Kadin's vice chairman for
international economic cooperation.
The government has estimated that the country would need at
least US$2 billion to rebuild the ruined infrastructure in Aceh
over the next five years.
The first Indonesian Infrastructure Summit is expected to
raise up to $74 billion over the next five years for various
infrastructure projects -- focusing on power and energy, toll
roads, transportation, water and sanitation, ports and airports
and telecommunications sectors.
Potential investors, including giant multinational names such
as General Electric, Siemens, Paiton Energy, Sumitomo Corp.,
Alcatel and Motorola, are confident of the government's
seriousness in undertaking massive infrastructure projects over
the next five years.
During the summit, the government will present a new
infrastructure development strategy to the public as well as
formulate strategy in a public-private partnership to ensure
effective implementation of the new strategy.
The summit, to be held on Jan. 17 and Jan. 18 at the Shangri-
La Hotel, Central Jakarta, is officially hosted by the Office of
Coordinating Minister for the Economy and the National
Development Planning Agency (Bappenas).
Susilo is expected to give a keynote speech and mingle with
investors at an official dinner reception on the first day.
Meanwhile, Vice President Jusuf Kalla will give a closing keynote
address the next day.
Among the proposed speakers at the summit are ambassadors from
neighboring countries, top executives from international
corporate players, global funding institutions such as the World
Bank, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Japan Bank for
International Cooperation (JBIC).